Previews

Thief: Deadly Shadows

The heir apparent to Looking Glass Studios' beloved stealth series seems to be shaping up well.

Spiffy:

Subtly tweaked Thief gameplay looks set to please.

Iffy:

I hope Ion can make good on its framerate promises.

Console gamers have Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, but PC players have always gotten their sneaking thrills from Eidos' Thief series. Originally developed by the highly esteemed Looking Glass Software, Thief and its sequel delivered an unparalleled stealth simulation that could trick you into holding your breath and trying to peek around your monitor. Now, Xbox gamers are finally going to get to see what all the fuss is about since Thief: Deadly Shadows, developed by the motley crew at Ion Storm Austin, is headed for a dual console / PC release.

Though story details are thin, Thief: Deadly Shadows may just cap off the trilogy, as it promises to tie up loose ends left in the previous games. Players will once again assume the role of the heroic thief Garrett, and help him pull of heists that would make lesser thieves blanch. Balls of steel are a requirement here, and I guess Garrett's off to a good start: He has a mechanical eye.

Improvisational Thieving

Eidos stopped by with a pre-alpha Xbox version loaded with a variety of maps. The controls map extremely well to the Xbox controller, so I was off and running in the space of a minute. Or creeping, rather. The main map I played was a large castle, and Garrett started off within 30 feet of two active guards. Luckily, their backs were turned, so I snuck off to the left to try to better hear their conversation.

Well, I tried to. I forgot to first go into crouch, so my rapid footsteps alerted them to my presence. Instantly they started searching, and I tried to duck behind a nearby barrel. Alas, it was too small to fully hide Garrett's body, so I was soon discovered. Luckily for me, the guard AI isn't quite there yet, so the more aggressive sentry got stuck running into the barrel. The other one was a bit more successful in navigating the world, so I looked for an escape.

I did not need to look far. In Thief: Deadly Shadows, Garrett has the newfound ability to climb up cobblestone walls, and that's exactly what I was backed up againt. Turning around, I leapt onto the wall and began my ascent, leaving the guards howling in frustration. "I'll get you when you decide to come back down!" one said, which I thought was a nice touch.

From the third story ledge I was now on, I had a clear view of the courtyard I had started in. One of the Eidos fellows pointed out that one way to proceed in this mission was to extinguish a huge torch across the way with a water arrow, which would give the signal to a sympathetic cook to open a door that would let me into the castle. Doing so triggered a little comment from Garrett -- "I hope that cook is as good as his word," or somesuch -- and he was indeed.

However, another potential entrance had caught my eye -- a window on a nearby wall, about one story below me. "Can I go in there?" I asked the Eidos guys. They didn't know, so I decided to try. I made to leap for the narrow window, and was surprised when Garrett, using his new ability again, grabbed onto the wall above it. This made it a cinch to climb downward and drop into the window. Not only could I enter by the window, I could do it with style. Better, there was clearly more than one way to solve this mission -- several, actually.

The window lead to a medieval study, which I quickly looted for valuables. As before, the game tells you the percentage of valuables you've grabbed in the level, and the loot from the study equalled a mere two percent. The game will apparently be rife with secret passages and such, so I checked the bookshelves and desk for obvious abnormalities. Finding none, I moved into the hallway.